Target display mode - iMac 27 Intel 2019

[leonremi]

I wonder if it would be possible (if Apple allowed it) to use Intel Macs as displays.
Apple is forcing their obsolescence and they would make perfectly fine monitors for Minis and Studios?

I wonder if it would be only a matter of a software update?

 

[gilby101]

Given the amount of effort people have put into this, I am confident it is not possible via a mere software upgrade. If you really want to use your iMac as a monitor there are kits you can buy which replace all the guts of the iMac except for the screen. This long discussion (and particularly the first post) has lots of information and war stories.

DIY 5k Monitor - success :-)

My "latest Macs" are a heavily upgraded 2009 Mac Pro (6c CPU, M.2 SSD, USB 3, RX580...) and more recently a 12c 2013 Mac Pro with an eGPU (Vega 56) - both machines with more than enough CPU power, GPU power and RAM for my needs, but I long aspired to upgrade to a nice 5k monitor to replace my...

forums.macrumors.com

Depending on where you live you may find a shop which is selling converted 5K iMacs. E.g. in Australia, https://www.macfixit.com.au/collect...-27-5k-display-plug-and-play-external-monitor. Not cheap, to say the least!!

I too have a 2019 5K iMac, so I am weighing up my options for the future.

 

[joevt]

Related threads or posts:
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...se-a-27-2015-imac-as-a-second-display.2448806
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/target-display-mode.2399450
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...-hub-with-thunderbolt-5.2448476/post-33711666
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/kensington-thunderbolt-5-dock-sd5000t5.2442676/post-33612124
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...nefits-and-is-it-needed.2442853/post-33570015
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/5k-6k-or-8k-new-asus-proart-monitors.2428429/post-33560717
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...what-signals-are-passed.2405694/post-32587998
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mac-mini-and-imac-display.2380267/post-31954957
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/caldigit-ts4-dock.2333931/post-31894448
https://forums.macrumors.com/thread...t-ts3-thunderbolt-3-hub.2358223/post-31446777
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/target-display-mode-not-working.2345436
etc.

 

[curnalpanic]

I wonder if it would be only a matter of a software update?

It is not. The hardware isn't there in the retina iMacs at all. See the many threads on the subject already posted.

 

[Regulus67]

I too have a 2019 5K iMac, so I am weighing up my options for the future.

I rebuilt a late 2015 when it broke, following the DIY info. A very good option, for our old 27" 5k iMacs.

The advantage compared to the macfixit version

Is that you can easily reuse the built in speakers, with a pair of crossovers.
Some have found ways to use the rear ports.
The built in camera cannot be used, but Apple's Continuity Camera is better anyway.

But the 2019 models are still good machines.
I would still have used my late 2015 if I could fix it.
Replacing the SSD blade and the SATA SSD with new did not help in my case. So instead of scrapping it, I rebuilt it.